Limiting Recess in Favor of Academics
For many young school children, the opportunity to burn energy through academic breaks like recess is becoming harder to find in many schools. In some areas, recess is being omitted in favor of pushing a more rigorous academic agenda.
According to the State Department of Education in Louisiana, more than 1 in 5 schools give students from kindergarten to eighth grade less than 15 minutes per day to burn off energy on the playground. Despite solid evidence that physical activity has academic benefits, public pressure to meet instructional time demands has “nudged aside” recess.
It’s no wonder that today kids are stressed out, anxious, and feel the push and pull of the weight, the burden and desire to live a satisfied life resting on their shoulders. This is made even more difficult to achieve for students living with anxiety disorders and learning disabilities.
According to the U.S. Department of Education, it’s estimated that more than 13% of public education students aged 3 to 21 have some kind of learning disability. Without recognition of these challenges, those students are less likely to succeed.
At Wellspring Behavioral Health, we offer academic assessments to help determine where your student’s strengths and weaknesses lie. Knowing how a student best learns, studies, and tests can make success a real possibility. Contact us today at Wellspring Behavioral Health to learn more about academic assessments.
What You Need to Know if Your Child is Diagnosed With Anxiety
Anxiety can be a very confusing concept to grasp. Although it’s an extremely common disorder, you’ll be hard-pressed to find a singular definition that rings the same for everyone. Not everyone’s definition of anxiety covers all the aspects or effects. Therefore, the general definition won’t cover all the same aspects for everyone. This is partly due to the fact that anxiety is presented in different ways to different people, each varying age, gender, and any other underlying disorders like PTSD, OCD and more.
If you live with anxiety on a regular basis, you know exactly how it can rear its ugly head and you might be more prepared if your children become diagnosed. If you’re unfamiliar with anxiety, you can learn from this father’s experience when his daughter was diagnosed with anxiety.
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The Necessity of Recess
For kids, so many of their elementary years happen on the playground. We all have fond memories of playing kickball, playing on the swings and racing around with our school-age friends, but for many children today, recess is in peril.
The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) reviewed existing research that found that allotted time for recess was being cut in order to comply with administrative pushes toward more rigorous academic demands. While research does show that elementary-aged kids who get ahead are more likely to stay ahead, should that come at the expense of the need for cherished playtime?